Eagle's Prey
by RoryCroft
Summary: Rose wasn't supposed to be a Ravenclaw.Now with the pressure of her family's legacy and the reputation of being an Eagle weighing on her, Rose starts to crumble. She looks for a target for her frustration and a young Slytherin finds himself in her sights.


The platform was crowded, but that wasn't anything new. Rose had been to the platform before to see her cousins off to school, but it was different this time, obviously, seeing as it was her getting on the train with them this time. She took a deep breath and pasted a large smile on her face. She didn't want her family to think she was nervous.

Her father walked beside her with his hand rested on her shoulder. Her mother was on her other side, walking close to her and holding Hugo's hand. They were probably more nervous than she was. Rose let out a sigh of relief when they spotted her Aunt, Uncle and cousins a few yards away.

She smiled at Albus, and rolled her eyes in their parent's direction as the four started talking. He smiled back at her, but neither of them said anything.

Her dad walked back to where she was standing and leaned in close. He pointed to a blond boy standing with his parents across the platform. "So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie," he said.

"For heaven's sake, Ron, don't turn them against each other before they've even started school," her mother snapped.

Rose looked at the boy. He looked up nervously at his father who looked down on him with a look of indifference. She knew who he was. He was a Malfoy. She didn't say it out loud, but she had every intention of beating him in every test.

Albus was sorted into Gryffindor, which didn't really shock Rose. She couldn't think of anyone in her family who wasn't…until she put on the hat. It hesitated for the slightest moment before spitting out the name "Ravenclaw."

Her jaw went slack as the hat was taken off her head and she was pushed from the stool. She looked over to the Gryffindor house where the rest of her family was sat. They looked just as shocked as she was.

She walked slowly to the table filled with blue and bronze and sat down. She didn't pay attention to the rest of the sorting.

It wasn't that she was disappointed. She remembered her mother saying that the hat had considered putting her in Ravenclaw before putting her with the lions. Rose told herself that it was her brains that got her in Ravenclaw, and she should be proud, but at the same time she felt like she was letting her family legacy down.

"It's not that big of a deal, really," Albus said as they walked across the grounds. They had finished their first day of classes and had met in front of the Great Hall to compare stories.

"Our whole family have been Gryffindors, Al," Rose said. She tried not to sound bitter, but she still hadn't come to terms with the hats decision. "Plus, I hadn't planned on being completely alone in my house. I was going to have you all."

"You still do, dummy," Albus said. "We're in different houses, not schools."

"It's just not the same." They let the silence fall around them as they walked further, closer to the lake. "Ugh, are you kidding me?" she groaned as they approached the tree by the lake.

"What?" Albus asked.

"There's someone sitting there," she pointed out.

"So? We'll just go somewhere else," he suggested.

"No, I want to sit here. I'm not having a great week, and I want to sit here."

"But Rose—" Albus started, but Rose was already ahead of him, heading toward the boy sitting under the tree.

"Hey," Rose said stopping in front the boy. It wasn't until she was standing there that she noticed it was the Malfoy boy.

"Yes?" he asked. His voice was soft. He looked up nervously from his book. He was wearing the dark green and silver of Slytherin, but Rose could practically see the uncertainty in his light gray eyes.

_Perhaps the hat takes blood into account,_ she thought to herself. _Well, if it did that, I'd be a Gryffindor._

"I want to sit here," she demanded. Scorpius went to reply, but he was cut off. "Now. It wasn't a question or a suggestion. Go." She pointed forcefully toward the castle.

"O-ok," he stammered. He stuffed his book into his bag and scurried away quickly.

Rose slumped against the tree and slid down to the ground. She looked over to Albus. "Aren't you going to join me?"

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Al, he's a Malfoy," she said in way of defense.

"Yeah, but he's also a person…and he looked scared, Rose."

She rolled her eyes. "Please. You've heard our dads talk about his family."

"Yeah, his family. Not him. I'm just saying had you asked nicely, he would have probably moved," he said.

"You're too quick to see the good in people, Al. It's going to be your downfall."

"Well, maybe you're just too quick to see the bad."

"No, I just see. Period," she said. "Now can we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. "So potions…"

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Comments and reviews are forever welcome :)


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